History

The North Coast Resource Conservation & Development Council is a non-profit and non-governmental organization which was formed and officially incorporated as a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization in 2002 to advance the conservation of natural and agricultural resources within Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, and Lake Counties in Northern California. The US Department of Agriculture authorized the area under the Federal Farm Bill in the 1960s. Initially, the US Department of Agriculture provided funding through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The funding included office space and the full time services of a coordinator to work with the Council to identify problems, establish goals and objectives, build strategies, and implement plans. In spring of 2011, all routine funding and support from the NRCS ceased, including complete elimination of office space and the Coordinator position.

Although the loss of NRCS support was challenging, our Council was well positioned to continue to implement its programs to achieve our goals and objectives, and continues to thrive as a small grassroots non-profit organization. The Council re-structured and is now relying on fundraising, private grants, direct donations, and various other grants to continue our important programs. While many similar non-profit councils throughout the nation were unable to make the change to a grassroots non-profit entity, the Council began to thrive in 2012, and has been on an upward growth trend since that time. We hired our first part-time employee in 2015, and currently have a part-time staff of three conservationists, two part-time Title V Senior Community Service Employment Program office support staff, and several volunteers.